28 March 2011
Indonesia's oldest uni to build translation and interpreting skills
Dr Barry Turner with the Dean of the Faculty of Humanities at UI, Professor Dr Bambang Wibawarta.
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Universitas Indonesia (UI), founded in 1849, and RMIT University will collaborate to build translation and interpreting capabilities in Indonesia and Australia, including the development of expertise in the assessment of translation and interpreting tests.
Dr Barry Turner, Senior Lecturer, Translating and Interpreting, School of Global Studies, Social Science and Planning, said that translation and interpreting was a growth area in South East Asia.
"The agreement provides a niche area for professional training in translation and interpreting Indonesian/English - as RMIT is one of only two universities outside Indonesia to offer this language combination.
"We are therefore in a very good position to cooperate with UI in facilitating postgraduate education opportunities for UI academic staff.
"Emeritus Professor Dr Benny Hoedoro Hoed from UI presented a public lecture at RMIT in 2010, and last week I gave a reciprocal public lecture in Indonesia.
"These activities raise the profile of translation and interpreting and engage new audiences in an interactive way.
"I will be involved in joint research activity with Professor Dr Hoed and other colleagues in Indonesia that is likely to include an investigation into the impact of the translation of advertisements in the shaping of consumer taste in Indonesia," Dr Turner said.
The collaboration will assist in the reactivation of a peer-review publication in translating and interpreting at UI - Dr Turner will be on the editorial board - which will assist in further developing a research base for the discipline of translation and interpreting.
In the QS Asia Pacific 2010 rankings, UI is ranked 50 and is the lead of five universities in Indonesia within the top 200.
UI is recognised by the Indonesian government as a centre of excellence and is eligible to receive scholarship funding for overseas study through the Indonesian Ministry of Education.
Translating and interpreting is the application of bilingual skills to transferring meaning across two languages, accurately and impartially, in order to facilitate communication in range of cross-cultural settings.
RMIT translating and interpreting courses are approved by the National Accreditation Authority for Translators and Interpreters Ltd (NAATI).
